Review of Calvin Klein Spring 2026 Ad Campaign by Creative Director Veronica Leoni and Photographer Juergen Teller with models Loli Bahia, Stella Hanan, Grace Knipe, Lauren Huyskens, Libby Taverner, Justi Aegitos, Xiru Yang, Bai Ruien, Diane Chiu, Ruyu Chen, and Perus Adolwi
Calvin Klein’s Spring 2026 Collection campaign arrives with the confidence of a brand reacquainting itself with its own reflection—and finding the image sharper than expected. Under the direction of Veronica Leoni, whose sophomore outing continues to define her authorship at the house, the campaign trades nostalgia for momentum. Shot by Juergen Teller during the live New York runway presentation, it embraces movement, immediacy, and a distinctly urban sensuality. The hook here is simple: minimalism, but with a pulse.
Teller’s lens has long excelled at making polish feel human, and that instinct serves the collection well. Rather than freezing models into statuesque stillness, he captures Loli Bahia, Stella Hanan, Grace Knipe, Lauren Huyskens, Libby Taverner, Justi Aegitos, Xiru Yang, Bai Ruien, Diane Chiu, Ruyu Chen, and Perus Adolwi mid-stride, mid-turn, mid-thought. There is motion in every frame, as if the women have places to be and little patience for decorative delay. It is an intelligent visual decision for Calvin Klein, a brand whose best work has always understood that sex appeal often walks faster than spectacle.
The imagery itself is spare but not sterile. Soft lighting washes over a palette of white, beluga, and black, interrupted by flashes of candy pink and fern green—like lipstick marks on a crisp shirt. These tonal shifts prevent the campaign from disappearing into the beige anonymity that often haunts contemporary minimalism. Leoni’s clothes, too, benefit from this balance: pinafore dresses with elongated clarity, jackets cut with lowered necklines, tailoring that alternates between cropped precision and relaxed ease. The recurring gesture of underwear as outerwear feels less provocative than pragmatic, less shock tactic than wardrobe fact. Calvin Klein knows the language well; here it speaks it fluently rather than loudly.
What resonates most is the campaign’s understanding of intimacy as power rather than vulnerability. Leoni’s statement about the tension between exposure and self-possession is more than copy—it is visible in the styling and casting. These women are not being looked at so much as choosing how to be seen. That distinction matters, particularly for a house historically intertwined with the politics of the gaze. There is a subtle recalibration here: sensuality not as performance for others, but as authorship of self.
If there is an area that could stretch further, it lies in emotional surprise. The campaign is disciplined, handsome, and conceptually coherent, but it occasionally feels so committed to restraint that it risks withholding a touch too much personality. Calvin Klein’s greatest campaigns often paired minimalism with a spark of mischief or danger. Here, the tension is cerebral rather than visceral. Elegant, certainly—but one wonders what might happen if the pulse raced just a little faster.
Still, this is a compelling chapter for the Calvin Klein Collection and an encouraging sign of Leoni’s evolving tenure. She understands that modern luxury need not shout, but it must know exactly what it wants to say. These images do. Minimalism may be back, but thankfully it has remembered how to move.
Calvin Klein Creative Director | Veronica Leoni
Photographer | Juergen Teller
Models | Loli Bahia, Stella Hanan, Grace Knipe, Lauren Huyskens, Libby Taverner, Justi Aegitos, Xiru Yang, Bai Ruien, Diane Chiu, Ruyu Chen, and Perus Adolwi
Location | New York City